Medical patients commonly need to be connected to one or more types of medical devices and equipment when placed in a hospital bed or during surgery. The medical devices and equipment is generally connected to the patient via medical circuitry (e.g., cords, tubes, wires, and the like). For example, medical patients must often times be hooked up to IV lines, EKG, pulse oximetry, electrocardiogram, non-invasive and invasive blood pressure, temperature cords, other monitoring wires or cables, and inspiratory and/or expiratory anesthesia tubing. In current practice, the medical circuitry (e.g., anesthesia tubing, medical cables, etc.) connected between the patient and the various medical devices and equipment are not protected or enclosed to reduce the incidence of damage and disconnection from the patient. This can result in the medical circuitry becoming easily tangled, kinked and/or disconnected with movement around the hospital or surgical bed and/or rotation of the bed itself, such as during a surgical procedure. Doctors, surgeons, nurses and other medical personnel also commonly stand on the same side of the hospital or surgical bed in which the medical circuitry is located further increasing the chance of an accidental disconnection from the patient.
The accidental interference and/or disconnection with the medical circuitry can impose severe complications for the patient and surgical procedures. For example, extubation of the endotracheal tube can create issues of difficult laryngoscopy and can result in hypoxia, cardiac arrest and even death.
Accordingly, a need exists for a safety device that can secure medical circuitry connected to medical patients and reduce the likelihood of accidental interference with such medical circuitry while the patient is in a hospital bed or undergoing surgery.